Combination-ladder.



J. R. GRAHAM.

COMBINATION LADDER.

APPLICATION FILED 001e, 1913.

1,096,903. Patented May 19, 1914.

Z SHEETS-SHEET l.

INVEN U I (12211): J q'rafiam J. R. GRAHAM.

COMBINATION LADDER.

APPLICATION IILED 00129, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Patented May 19, 1914.

JOHN R. GRAHAM, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

COMBINATION-LADDER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J GEN R. GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Combination- Ladder, of which the following is a specification.

My invention, while relating to ladders 1n general, has more special reference to those of the extension type; and the object of the invention is to enable ladder work to be safely carried on at a greater height than is.

practicable with an individual extension or other ladder.

A combination ladder constructed in accordance with my invention consists of two ladder sections, one forming an extension of the other, and in the specification the supporting and the sustained sections are referred to as the main and the additional sections, respectively.

I attain the object of my invention by making a combination ladder such as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of such a ladder shown as raised against a wall, the upper end of the additional section engaging the wall and the main section supported therefrom by a bracket carried by andextending from the upper end of such section; Fig. 2, a side elevation of such a ladder in its raised position and shows how the ladder may be used without the bracket seen in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, an enlarged plan view and Fig. 4 a side View of the supporting bracket and showing it in operative position on the main section; Fig. 5, an enlarged view from the left, with reference to Fig. 2, of the upper and lower ends of the main and additional ladder sections, respectively; Fig.6, a sectional View taken along the line m-y of Fig. 5 with all parts to the right of such line removed; Fig. 7, a sectional View similar to Fig. 6 but showing the two ladder sections in the relative positions in which they are seen in Fig. 1; Fig. 8, a front view and Fig. 9 a sectional view taken along the line m of Fig. 8 showing the upper end of a main section and means carried thereby for supporting a bracket such as seen in Figs. 1, 3 and 4:; Fig. 10, a sectional view similar to Fig. 7 but showing an adjustable instead of a fixed locking member; and Fig. 11, a detail, later to be explained, showing a different way of supporting the additional lad Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 9, 1913.

Patented May 19, 1914.

Serial No. 794,334.

der section than shown in the figures previously referred to.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, each of the combination ladder sections A and B is a ladder of the type having flat side rails and round rungs, the rungs of the section A being lettered r and those of the section B being lettered r. The additional section B is adapted to stand upon one of the upper rungs r of the main section A with such rung engaging in either the openings 0 or 0 one of each such openings being formed in the widened portion 6 at the lower end ofeach side rail of the section B, accordingly as such ladder sections are to assume the relative positions as seen in Fig. 7 or Fig. 6, respectively, and the additional section B is of such a width that the rails thereof will lie within and adjacent to those of the main section A. The two sections are held together by suitable locking members secured, preferably, on the inner sides of the rails, those on the section A having hooks for engaging the rungs r of the section B while those on the section B are provided with hooks for engaging the rungs 1' of the section A. Those looking members may be devices of any suitable construction, although I prefer to make use of means such as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 of the drawings. A wire or rod 0 is secured to the inner side of each rail of the section B by staples '1), the lower end of each wire encircling the bottom rung 0' and the upper end formed into a hook and bent to engage over the first rung r above that on which the section B stands. A block a is secured to the inner side of each rail of section A of a thickness equal to one of the rails of the section B and a wire or rod V is secured to each block a by staples o, the upper end of each wire oncircling the second rung 1' above that on which the section B stands and the lower end formed into two hooks so that either the outer or inner one thereof will. engage under and support the second rung r .from the bottom of the section B accordingly as the ladder sections assume the relative positions as seen in Fig. 6 or Fig. 7, respectively. I have found that one pair of locking members on each ladder section, each pair exerting a pull in an opposite direction, is sufficient under ordinary circumstances to hold such sections securely in place. However, it will readily be seen that more of such locking members may be provided if necessary.

When the combination ladder is raised against a wall WV, as indicated in Fig. 1, and the sections A and B lie in parallel planes, I make use of a supporting frame or bracket G for bracing the upper end of the section A from the wall. This frame C is made, preferably, of a single piece of tubing and is formed as seen in plan view in Fig. 3. The ends of the tubing extend downward through openings therefor in blocks a secured on the outer sides of the upper ends of the section A rails and are prevented from being withdrawn by cotter keys 92 The side arms of the bracket C extend obliquely outward from the rails so that the two outer corners of the bracket engaging the wall will be farther apart than the width of the ladder section A at its upper end, thus providing a firm support for the ladder section and one that will tend to overcome any twisting action of the ladder. The outer corners of the bracket C may be provided with suitable protuberances a, which may be bumpers or rollers, for preventing any marring of the wall WV, and a platform, such as indicated in dotted lines at P in Figs. 3 and a, may be supported on and secured to the bracket G. The bracket C is inclined slightly upward from the horizontal plane to cause it to engage with a wedging action against the wall W.

In some instances the use of the bracket C may be dispensed with and the upper end of both ladder sect-ions allowed to rest directly against supports therefor as seen in Fig. 2, in which figure the support for the section A is indicated at 'w and the support for the section B, at w and when the ladder is thus raised the section B will stand upon the section A with a rung r engaging in the openings 0 7 Instead of the blocks a; on the section A rails, means for supporting a bracket C may be provided such as seen in Figs. 8 and 9. There are four S-shape hooks, two of which are hung on each of two adjacent rungs'r close to the rails and, if desired, may be secured to the rails. A cross bar D is sup ported by each pair of hooks and these bars may, if desired, be secured to such hooks. The ends of the bars D are bent up at right angles to engage outside of the rails and have bosses formed thereon which are bored out to permit the downward extending end portions 0 of the tubing forming the bracket to extend therethrough. The bracket C is thus supported by the bars D, the bars D by the hooks h and the ladder section A rests firmly against the bars D.

To enable either of the ladder sections to be used with any other ladder, the rungs of which may be a greater or less distance apart, adjustable locking members may be provided, one of which is seen in Fig. 10, instead of the fixed locking members seen in Figs. 5, 6 and"? and previously referred to. Each adjustable locking member comprises a wire or rod H bent U-shape, one side thereof movable through screw eyes a, secured to the inner side of a rail, and held in proper position of adjustment by nuts 01. threaded thereon, one of which is located on each side of one of the eyes 0, while the other end of the wire is formed into a rung engaging hook.

In Fig. 11 there is shown a modification of the means for sustaining an additional ladder section such as B on a main section A. The rails of the section B engage outside of those of the section A and two, or more if desired, of the rungs r engage in and are supported by hooks formed from wires or rods V secured by staples o to the inner sides of the main section rails. These supporting members V may be secured to the rails of either ladder section, but if placed on the section B instead of on the section A, as shown, the hooks will be formed to engage over and hang upon the rungs of the section A. V

The rails of the section A extend upward a short distance from the top rung to afford means for a person to hold on to when stepping from the ladder on to the platform P before, of course, the section B has been placed in position; and the rung r on which the section B is adapted to stand and, also, the widened portions of the section B rails may be suitably reinforced. The supporting means for the upper end of the main sec tion may be arms extending obliquely therefrom and adapted to engage the wall W instead of the platform supporting bracket C.

The two latter sections may be combined before being raised or, and preferably, the sustaining section A is first raised and the additional ladder section is placed in position. This additional section may be provided with ropes attached to its upper end by means of which it can be drawn up to place either by a person on the platform P or one in any advantageous position directly above the main ladder section,

thereafter and these ropes may also be used to secure ened at their lower ends and a plurality of rung engaging grooves formed therein whereby said section may be supported and extend upward in a plane parallel with or at an angle to said main section, and locking members for holding said sections in either of their relative positions.

2. A ladder comprising, in combination, a main section and an additional section, said additional section having its side rails broadened at their lower ends and a plurality of rung engaging grooves formed therein whereby said section may be supported and extend upward in a plane parallel with or at an angle to said main section, a locking member carried by said additional section having a single hook for engaging the first rung on said main section above that on which said additional section is supported, and an additional locking member carried by said main section having a plurality of hooks one of which engages a rung on said additional section according to the relative position of said ladder sections.

3. The combination of a ladder, a frame for bracing the upper end of said ladder from a wall, said frame extending from the ladder on a slight incline and engaging the wall at two points farther apart than the width of the ladder at its upper end, hooks on upper rungs of said ladder, and means carried by said hooks for engaging against the inner edges of said ladder rails and for,

said frame.

JOHN R. GRAHAM. Witnesses:

ELMER H. SCHULTZ, JENNm MAOAULAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

